Policy Report on Travel and Transportation in Southeast Michigan

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Policy Report Number 5 • Spring 2006

Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy

UNIVERSITY

OF

MICHIGAN

DETROIT AREA STUDY, 2001: Travel and Transportation By Robert W. Marans, University of Michigan

Summary This report reviews transportation related issues in southeast Michigan, as examined in the 2001 Detroit Area Study (DAS). Some of the key findings from this survey of over 4,300 adults in the southeast Michigan region are as follows: ■ Residents

across the region are heavily reliant on their automobiles for travel, with very limited, and generally declining, use of public transit (i.e., buses). The highest use of public transit options are in Detroit and Washtenaw County.

■ Among

those who do use public transit, levels of use are strongly associated with distance to the nearest bus stop: the closer the bus stop, the more frequent is the use of public transit.

■ Although

average commuting times in the region are lower than in places like Chicago and Los Angeles, a significant amount of commuter stress is still reported in southeast Michigan. Levels of stress are strongly related to both the amount of time spent commuting, and to the commuter’s location: the longer the commute, the higher the stress, though this relationship is strongest for Detroit and Wayne County residents, and is weakest for those in St. Clair and Monroe Counties.

■ Most

people believe that safe and reliable public transit is important to the quality of life of metro area residents. However, support for public transit improvements is tempered by the questions of tax increases and paying for improvements.

■ Compared

to the limited support for public transit improvements, there is wider and stronger support to pay for improvements to roads and highways.

■ Transportation

patterns, values, and priorities vary significantly across the region, by county and by type of community.

These and other findings are discussed in more detail on the following pages.


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